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Impact Of Telemedicine In Social Work Research Paper

Health Care Advancement and Trend paper

Telemedicine

Over the past year and a half, the healthcare industry has faced unprecedented disruption due to the COVID- pandemic. The healthcare industry's technology has been growing slowly in the past. However, there was a need for rapid innovation to deal with the pandemic. Telemedicine is the provision of remote healthcare services using real-time two-way communication (Calton, Abedini, & Fratkin, 2020; Yenikomshian et al., 2019). The patient and healthcare provider will make use of audio and visual communication tools. With the advancement of 5G-enabled devices, which offer reliable real-time connections, telemedicine will get a huge boost by eliminating the current hurdles based on technology or the connection's speed (Nittari et al., 2020). It would be possible for healthcare workers to deliver fast care without disruption, even in rural areas. With more connected devices, there is the possibility of revolutionizing the healthcare system using telemedicine (Schneider, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has ensured an increase in telemedicine uptake within the industry, and patients are more receptive to the technology.

Telemedicine comes in the form of phone calls or video chat, where the healthcare provider will offer advice to patients based on the symptoms the patient describes (Calton et al., 2020). The doctor does not get to physically see the patient, which increases the number of patients a doctor can see in a day. Telemedicine also allows patients to access medical services even when they are located in remote areas. Eliminating the need for patients to physically visit a healthcare facility reduces the patient's time commuting to the hospital and waiting in line to see the doctor. Telemedicine reduces healthcare costs by ensuring healthcare facilities do not need to have large waiting areas for their patients. Patients can access medical services even when the facility is closed.

Highly personalized apps are being developed that allow patients to speak virtually with their physician or other healthcare providers. The patient can receive medical advice and instant diagnosis using these apps. For patients with chronic conditions, telemedicine is a lifesaver. The patient can receive instant advice, and they do not need to visit the hospital for treatment physically. Considering how oversubscribed healthcare services are, a chronic patient would end up spending hours waiting to see a doctor. However, the patient does not need to leave his house to see a doctor due to technology.

For social workers, telemedicine will allow a social worker to interact with numerous clients in a single day compared to physically visiting each client (Schneider, 2020). Increasing the outreach to patients improves the delivery of care. We can identify health problems early with improved care, and patients can receive the care they need before the disease progresses (Nittari et al., 2020). In nursing, telemedicine will reduce nurses' workload, as they can remotely monitor patients and receive alerts when a patient's vitals are abnormal. With the monitoring system in place, the nurse can focus on other patients instead of hanging around a single patient. Nurses can also offer services to patients remotely and reduce the number of patients who have to visit a healthcare facility physically.

Remote patients will benefit the most. Getting healthcare services in remote areas is tricky, and most healthcare organizations do not have facilities in remote areas (Abbatemarco et al., 2021). Therefore, the people living in such areas have to travel long distances to access medical services. However, with telemedicine, they can now access medical services easily and not have to travel long distances to see a doctor. Service delivery will improve, and the health outcomes of patients in remote areas will improve...

…in a hostile environment can result in the social worker losing focus or being demoralized.

The Role of The Social Worker in Implementing Telemedicine

Social workers understand telemedicine better than their clients. The role of the social worker would be first to educate their clients regarding telemedicine (Knickman & Elbel, 2019). Using this information, the social worker can demonstrate the advantages of using the technology and benefit the client. The client's pain points should be addressed, and alternatives are given when the overall mode of delivery might be unavailable. In most cases, the social worker will have to encourage the clients to adopt the new technology. If the clients do not start using telemedicine, it would be useless to try and implement it in the office. Social workers become change champions for their clients. Change champions advocate for the use of technology and the need for change. Increasing awareness and adoption will be the role of the social worker. Awareness is increased by informing the clients about the technology and letting them know how it will improve the client's lives.

Encouraging adoption allows the client to easily seek and receive the same services as before without the hassle of travelling and waiting in line (Brigo et al., 2020). The social worker will be charged with engaging the clients and even demonstrating how to use telemedicine. Since the social worker will be using telemedicine with the client, they must ensure they know and understand how to open and interact with the application. Troubleshooting problems with the application is another role the social worker will have to undertake to increase implementation. The social worker will be the point person for the client. Therefore, it will be their responsibility first to attempt to solve the client's problem before they can forward it to the technology guys. There…

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References

Abbatemarco, J. R., Hartman, J., McGinley, M., Bermel, R. A., Boissy, A., Chizmadia, D. T., . . . Rensel, M. R. (2021). Providing Person-Centered Care via Telemedicine in the Era of COVID-19 in Multiple Sclerosis. Journal of Patient Experience, 8, 2374373520981474.

Adams, J. L., Myers, T. L., Waddell, E. M., Spear, K. L., & Schneider, R. B. (2020). Telemedicine: a valuable tool in neurodegenerative diseases. Current geriatrics reports, 9(2), 72-81.

Brigo, F., Bonavita, S., Leocani, L., Tedeschi, G., & Lavorgna, L. (2020). Telemedicine and the challenge of epilepsy management at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. Epilepsy & Behavior, 110.

Calton, B., Abedini, N., & Fratkin, M. (2020). Telemedicine in the time of coronavirus. Journal of pain and symptom management, 60(1), e12-e14.

Knickman, J. R., & Elbel, B. (2019). Jonas and Kovner's Health Care Delivery in the United States (12th ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Langarizadeh, M., Moghbeli, F., & Aliabadi, A. (2017). Application of ethics for providing telemedicine services and information technology. Medical Archives, 71(5), 351.

Longstreth, M., Slosser, A., Barry, R., Carrico, C., & McKibbin, C. (2018). The Value of Evidence-Based Practice Training Through Telemedicine: Do We Need to Be in the Same Room? Innovation in Aging, 2(Suppl 1), 129.

Nittari, G., Khuman, R., Baldoni, S., Pallotta, G., Battineni, G., Sirignano, A., . . . Ricci, G. (2020). Telemedicine practice: review of the current ethical and legal challenges. Telemedicine and e-Health, 26(12), 1427-1437.

Schneider, M. J. (2020). Introduction to Public Health (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Yenikomshian, H. A., Lerew, T. L., Tam, M., Mandell, S. P., Honari, S. E., & Pham, T. N. (2019). Evaluation of burn rounds using telemedicine: perspectives from patients, families, and burn center staff. Telemedicine and e-Health, 25(1), 25-30.

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